ENZO CHAMPAGNE – WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!
by Carilynn OHare on Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 8:16pm ·

On September 22, 2012, our dear friend Enzo Champagne had his account hacked by three individuals who took all of his money, stole additional money off of his personal PayPal account, and proceeded to spend all of it at one SL business.

Enzo immediately reported the incident to Linden Lab, as he should have. He included the transactions so LL could see exactly who the thieves were. The following day, the owner of the business returned all of Enzo’s funds and PayPal also returned the money that was stolen.

Enzo immediately informed Linden Lab that his money had been returned, and that they should continue to pursue and punish the three thieves. LL then put a block on Enzo’s account, which is the normal course of business when investigating fraudulent transactions. Incredibly, a few days after this, while waiting for his account to be reinstated, Enzo was informed that Linden Lab was PERMANENTLY TERMINATING this account! They gave him no reason other than they found he had “violated the terms of TOS.”

Enzo prepared an appeal of his case but he is devastated, as you can imagine. He has been in SL for four years, his character and integrity are beyond reproach, and now he may never be able to return to SL under his name and will lose all of his hard-earned money and the contents of his inventory, including all of his designs and textures. He has lost the appeal, and is currently pinning his hopes on the efforts of someone who is trying to personally get someone at LL to again review his case. The outlook is dim. We are absolutely shocked and upset, as is Enzo. We cannot believe what has happened to our friend. How is it possible that a criminal like Ramonzita walks around Second Life in absolute impunity — robbing, assaulting, threatening, blackmailing, and destroying the work of designers, models, and anyone else she chooses to harass, and yet Linden Lab does absolutely nothing to defend us. An honest designer in Second Life had his account hacked and his money stolen. What did Linden Lab do? NOTHING! Enzo Champagne had to try and resolve the situation by himself by contacting the owners of the place where the thieves spent his money. Sorry — Linden Lab did do something – it blocked the account of the victim and several days thereafter informed Enzo that his account had been permanently terminated. Really? The victim is punished and the perpetrators and griefers walk free and happy in SL? What kind of madhouse is this?

In moments like this it is inevitable to think about what Edmund Burke said: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Where are the good people? What are we doing? Don´t we understand that what has and is happening to Enzo Champagne, Anna Sapphire, Frolic Mills, Shena Neox, and many others can happen to each of us? Are we going to continue to allow such impunity? The reason for Linden Lab’s inaction — “Linden Lab only talks to the person who owns the account. Understood. But has Linden Lab ever received a statement, complaint, or formal request signed by hundreds of residents that work in SL, who advance the SL economy, and who support Linden Lab by their individual investments of literally hundreds of thousands of dollars? We do not think so. What are we waiting for?

This is our proposal. We band together, write a complaint, put our names on it. Maybe this will not give Enzo his account back or resolve other problems, but at least we will be setting a precedent and defending our rights.

Whether or not Enzo is allowed to return to SL, this must be done. We can no longer stand by and be silent. Will you join our petition?

Ponchituti Boucher and Carilynn OHare

First they came for the socialists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.